Beatrice of Provence

Family

Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence and Forcalquier, had four daughters, but no sons. His eldest daughter, Margaret, was Queen of France as the wife of Louis IX; his second daughter, Eleanor, was Queen of England as the wife of Henry III, and his third, Sanchia, was titular Queen of Germany as the wife of Henry's brother Richard, Earl of Cornwall. King Louis IX's marriage to Margaret had been arranged by his mother, Blanche of Castile, with the hopes that he would inherit Provence and Forcalquier when Ramon Berenguer died. He, however, left everything to Beatrice, making her Countess of Provence in her own right. Frederick II, dispatched the imperial navy to Provence to ensure Beatrice marry one of his progeny and James I of Aragon, in the hopes of uniting Provence and Toulouse, had planned to marry Beatrice, but when her father died the French court intervened, by getting Pope Innocent IV to refuse the marriage.

Marriage

When Ramon Berenguer died on 19 August 1245, he left Provence to his youngest daughter, and his widow was granted the usufruct of the county of Provence for her lifetime. Beatrice then became one of the most attractive heiresses in medieval Europe. Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, sent a fleet and James I of Aragon sent an army to seize her, so her mother placed herself and Beatrice in a safe fortress in Aix, secured the trust of its people then sent to the Pope for his protection. The Pope was also a target for Frederick's military incursions in France. In Cluny during December 1245, a secret discussion, between Pope Innocent IV, Louis IX of France, his mother Blanche of Castile, and his brother Charles of Anjou, took place. It was decided that in return for Louis IX supporting the Pope militarily, the Pope would allow Charles of Anjou, youngest brother to the French King, to marry Beatrice of Provence. Mother and daughter were satisfied with this selection. But Provence was to never go to France outright through Charles. It was agreed that if Charles and Beatrice had children, the county would go to them; if there was no issue, then the county would go to Sanchia of Provence. If Sanchia died without an heir, Provence would go to the King of Aragon.

Henry protested the selection, arguing that he had not yet received the full dowry for Eleanor nor his brother for Sanchia. He also still had the castles in Provence against the loan he had made to the former count.

Charles, along with Philip of Savoy and five hundred knights, rode from Lyon to Provence. On their way, they ran into Raymond VII Count of Toulouse, who also had an army on the way to Provence. However, Raymond of Toulouse had been deceived by knights in favour of Charles and for that reason he had brought fewer men, and Charles and his army were quicker. When Charles got to Aix-en-Provence, James I of Aragon, who had been there all along but was not allowed to see Beatrice, had his soldiers surrounding the castle in which the young Beatrice and her mother were. There was a brief struggle, but the King of Aragon retreated with dignity. To the young Beatrice, Charles, who was described as "an admirable young man", was a satisfactory resolution to her problems. The marriage took place on 31 January 1246, in Aix-en-Provence. They had soldiers on guard and the bride was escorted down the aisle by her uncle, Thomas.

As soon as Charles became Count of Provence, he brought in his own team of French lawyers and accountants. He excluded his mother-in-law Beatrice of Savoy from the running of the county and began taking castles, power and fees away from the nobles who had previously enjoyed a certain degree of independence in the running of their cities. Charles made himself very unpopular. Beatrice of Savoy moved herself to Forcalquier in protest, and in Marseille, Charles's officials were thrown out of the city. In the family conflict the younger Beatrice sided with her husband.

Seventh Crusade

In May 1247, Charles and Beatrice were recorded as being in Melun, where Charles was knighted by his brother Louis. Beatrice accompanied Charles on the seventh crusade in 1248. Led by Louis IX, the crusaders made an extended procession through France. Before they left, Charles and Beatrice met with her mother in Beaucaire to try to come to some terms of agreement concerning Provence. Whilst the more important matters were left until Charles and Beatrice returned, it was decided that Beatrice of Savoy would give up the rights to "the castle at Aix in exchange for a percentage of the county's revenue."

In Nicosia Beatrice gave birth to her first child, "a very elegant and wellformed son", as her brother-in-law Robert of Artois wrote home to his mother the Queen. Beatrice stayed with her sister Margaret in Damietta, when they lost contact with the King and his army, here Beatrice gave birth to her second child; her sister Margaret too gave birth while in Damietta. Later in 1250, they were reunited with the rest of the crusade at Acre, where the King's ransom was paid. Charles and Beatrice, along with several other nobles, left soon after and journeyed to the court of Emperor Frederick II, to ask him to send the King of France more men for his crusade. However, Frederick, who had been excommunicated, needed his army to fight the Pope, and refused. Charles and Beatrice were then forced to go to Lyon to meet with the Pope.

By the time they returned to Provence in 1250, open rebellion had broken out, spurred on by Beatrice's mother, who felt Charles had failed to respect her claims in Provence. By July 1252 Charles had managed to defeat the revolt and was in the process of exercising his power as Count of Provence. However, in November of the same year, Blanche of Castile, regent of France while her son Louis IX was on crusade, died. Charles and Beatrice had to go to Paris, where Charles became co-regent of France with his brother, Alphonse. The Pope offered Charles the Kingdom of Sicily in 1252, but Charles had to turn the offer down, as he was preoccupied with other affairs and he also did not have sufficient funds.

The crusaders returned in 1254. Charles and Beatrice spent Christmas in Paris that year, where all of Beatrice's sisters and their mother were present; it was noted that the other four women treated the younger Beatrice coldly, due to Raymond Berenguer's will.

Queen of Sicily

Beatrice's sister Margaret, the new Queen of France, publicly offended her in 1259, by not seating her at the family table; she claimed because Beatrice was not a queen like her sisters, she could not sit with them. Margaret had hoped to provoke her sister in treacherous behaviour so she would have a valid reason to invade Provence. Beatrice "with great grief", went to Charles and he reportedly told her: "Be at peace, for I will shortly make thee a greater Queen than them".

When the newly elected Pope Clement IV granted Charles the Kingdom of Sicily, he had to defeat King Manfred, who had fallen out of papal favour. Another contender to win the throne of Sicily was Beatrice's nephew, Edmund Crouchback, but it soon became clear that Charles was the more promising candidate. In order to achieve his goal, Charles needed an army and Beatrice helped her husband raise one. She called on all her knights as well as the young men of France, and according to the later historian Angelo di Costanzo she pledged all her jewels, to make sure they joined her husband's army:

Beatrice, to aid [Charles] in the gratification of her ambition, sold all her jewels and personal ornaments, and expended her private treasure in collecting round her standard, not only her own vassals, but the chivalric youth of France, who were attracted to her service not less by her personal solicitations than by her rich gifts.

Charles went first to Rome, and Beatrice followed with the remaining army through the treacherous Alpine passes, during autumn. It took them nearly six weeks to reach Rome, but once both Charles and Beatrice were in Rome, they were crowned King and Queen of Sicily on 6 January 1266 by five cardinals sent by the Pope (who was sheltering in Perugia). As soon as the coronation festivities had ended, Beatrice stayed in Rome with a small force to hold the city, whilst Charles rode out to the battle of Benevento. After her husband's victory, she chose the castle of Melfi as their residence.

Issue

Charles and Beatrice had the following children:

Their descendants included;Yolande of Aragon, Philippa of Hainaut, Isabella I of Castile, Henry VIII of England, Caroline of Ansbach, Queen Victoria and Elizabeth II of Great Britain.

Death

Beatrice died at Nocera Inferiore in 1267, a little over a year after becoming queen. The cause of her death was not recorded. She was initially buried at Nocera, but Charles later moved her body to Aix-en-Provence where she was laid to rest with her father.

Beatrice, like her sisters, mother and grandmother was known for her beauty. A description of Beatrice said she "set men's hearts thumping and the fingers of troubadours to fevered twanging of lyres. Two of the balladists at the Provencal court were temporarily deprived of reason for love of the entrancing Beatrice", and like her sister Sanchia, she would eventually become a queen before her death: Sanchia became 'Queen of the Romans' after the Earl of Cornwall was elected as King; Beatrice became Queen consort of Sicily, after that realm was bestowed upon Charles by the Pope.